Aces Host Aviators in Fourth Edition of Silver State Diamond Challenge

Fresh off a road trip against the Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, the Reno Aces return to Greater Nevada Field and will face their in-state rival, Las Vegas Aviators, Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, in a six-game homestand starting Tuesday, August 30.

SCOUTING LAS VEGAS

The Aviators recently finished a road series against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, and won two out of the six games.

Matt Davidson leads the Aviators with 20 homers and is hitting .338 (23-for-68) in August with two homers, seven RBI and 16 walks in 20 games.

In their series against Sugar Land, Nate Mondou hit .333 (6-for-18) with three homers and seven RBI in five games.

Collin Wiles leads Las Vegas’ rotation with eight wins and currently sports a 5.43 ERA. In his last start on 8/25 against Sugar Land, the right-hander was handed the loss after allowing eight runs (four earned) on 13 hits, walking one and struck out four in 3.1 innings pitched.

Three Top-30 prospects in Oakland’s organization are on Las Vegas’ roster, including Ken Waldichuk (3), Jordan Diaz (8) and Garrett Acton (29).

ACES HIGH

Reno currently owns a 13-5 advantage against Las Vegas in the Silver State Diamond Challenge this season. In their last series against the Aviators, the Aces won all six games in Sin City. Dominic Miroglio batted .500 (7-for-14) with two homers, eight RBI and seven runs scored against the Aviators. Ryne Nelson toed the slab and fired seven innings of one-run ball on five hits, three walks and four strikeouts to earn the win. The pitching success continued when Drey Jameson tossed seven innings of one-run ball on 10 hits, one walk and seven strikeouts and improved his record to 4-7.

Jake Hager hit .363 (4-for-11) in the Sacramento series with five RBI in three games.

Jancarlos Cintron unloaded a homer, drove in two and scored two runs in five games against the River Cats. The infielder is hitting .318 (28-for-88) on the road with three homers and 14 RBI in 25 games.

On the bump, Brandon Pfaadt tossed five innings of two-run ball on four hits, walked two and struck out six in a no-decision. Since his promotion to Reno, Pfaadt sports a 3-0 record, 2.03 ERA and has allowed just seven earned runs in 31.0 innings pitched.

When his number was called, Blake Workman impressed out of the bullpen with 2.2 shutout innings on one hit, no walks and struck out a pair in two relief appearances.

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